Lina Petrilli saw her life unfold four years ago. Her neighbor Denis Leblanc, who allegedly threatened and harassed her in the past, stood at her door with a rifle, his face “enraged”. According to her, he had just shot her two sisters.
This is the terrifying scene on display Wednesday morning at the 63-year-old’s trial. Denis Leblanc is accused of the premeditated murders of Diane and Sylvie Leblanc on October 3, 2020, as well as attempted murder of his neighbor Lina Petrilli and police officers Patrick Rochon and Sébastien Houle. According to the prosecution’s theory, Denis Leblanc shot his two sisters on the balcony behind his home, before stepping over their bodies to try to kill Lina Petrilli.
“I had a bad feeling,” the latter explained Wednesday morning in her testimony.
The accused’s neighbor saw the two sisters talking to their brother that morning. She heard the man respond to them by raising his voice, she told the jury. “What are you doing here, you have no business here!” “, he told them.
The accused began talking about COVID-19 restrictions, according to the victim.
Lina Petrilli immediately calls the police to report a conflict. During this 911 call, she heard a gunshot.
“I think he just shot his sister,” she said. She then saw one of the victims fall from the stairs, according to her testimony. She is still on the phone when she hears the second shot.
“Is there anyone else who wants to get shot or who wants to get killed? », Said Denis Leblanc at that time, according to another witness heard by the jury. She said she saw one of the victims receive the first shot.
Panicked, Lina Petrilli returns home and bars the doors.
“I was just thinking about saving my skin,” she explained with emotion.
She sees Denis Leblanc in front of her door with his rifle. He broke her window with a butt and unlocked the lock, she described to the jury. “He had black black eyes and the face of a super angry guy,” recalled Mme Petrilli. He was in a shooting position “like someone who would hunt,” she described.
While fleeing, she hears gunshots in her home. She takes refuge in a duplex a few steps from her home.
At this moment she sees the police and Denis Leblanc, still armed.
He ends up dropping his weapon. Lying on the ground, he searches in the pockets of his coat, while the agents rush towards him. “That’s when I see him light a cigarette,” said M.me Petrilli.
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PHOTOS FILED AS PROOF
Hunting weapons and ammunition were found by the police in Denis Leblanc’s apartment.
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PHOTOS FILED AS PROOF
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PHOTOS FILED AS PROOF
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PHOTOS FILED AS PROOF
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SOURCE: PHOTOS FILED AS EVIDENCE
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PHOTOS FILED AS PROOF
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“ THE devil is awake »
It is the morning of October 3, 2020, shortly before the double murder. From his balcony, Mme Petrilli hears Denis Leblanc shout that “the devil is awake”, through loud music which seems to come from the accused’s apartment, according to the witness’s account.
He makes incoherent comments on the phone, saying that he was going to “flush” his cell phone.
The accused walks into an alley and throws him towards a brick wall, according to M’s descriptionme Petrilli. “He was furious,” the witness described.
When the accused is busy cleaning up the damage, he gives him the finger. Several photos and audio recording taken by Mme Petrilli’s events leading up to the murders were presented to the jury.
“I said to myself, it doesn’t smell good. There’s something going to happen Today “, she reiterated in the courtroom.
She referred to snatches of conversation between a neighbor and Denis Leblanc heard the morning of the murder. The latter appears to be intoxicated, she said Wednesday. She hears the neighbor say “It’s illegal, keep your voice down.” You don’t have the right,” the neighbor recalled.
According to her, Denis Leblanc then makes various worrying comments: he speaks of his sister, of multiple loaded weapons, mentions the police by saying “hope they are women” and speaks of Mme Petrilli with vulgarity.
Insults and threats
Lina Petrilli had rejected the advances of her neighbor Denis Leblanc a few months before the double murder. “I had a strong idea that Mr. Leblanc was in love with me. » Feelings that she did not share, clarified Mme Petrilli in the courtroom.
After being rejected, the defendant began insulting and threatening her one morning in February, she told the jury. He calls her a dog, a slut, advises her “to pay attention to her” and alludes to kidnapping, according to her account. “He said he was going to file a complaint with my employer.”
“When I come home from work, he continues to taunt me. » The situation worries him to the point of calling the police.
When the agents went to see Denis Leblanc in connection with this complaint, he appeared hostile, according to M.me Petrilli. “He did not open the door to the police and began to insult them. I don’t know what was said, but it spoke loudly. »
Her neighbor continued to send her threatening text messages even after the authorities visited, she continued.
I said to myself, he wants to hurt me. I didn’t feel trapped, but like I had to be careful.
Lina Petrilli
Denis Leblanc’s trial is expected to last several weeks. It’s Me Alexandre Garel and Me François Létourneau-Prézeau who defend the accused. Me Pierre-Olivier Bolduc and Me Katerine Brabant represent the crown.